Monday, December 20, 2004

For a variety of reasons, one of which
was a premium on space, one of my originally designed encounters was truncated.
If you're interested in replacing the dire shark encounter as published in
Grasp of the Emerald
Claw with a variation that provides the
possibility of escaping from that mighty maw altogether, read on:

To use this encounter, replace the encounters
titled 'Danger at Sea, 'Rise, Rise!,' A Swim in the Dark' on page 7 and 'Island
Encounter' on page 9 in the published adventure with the encounter titled
Shargon Baiting below, and pick up again with the encounter titled 'Stormreach'
on page 10:

Gliding along beneath the
waves of the sea can be either extremely boring, or extremely interesting,
depending on the terrain being traveled through. About four days into the trip
(half way), Captain Byam calls the characters to the observation blister to see
an interesting sight.

Visible through the thick
panes of glass is the crushing sea. Always before, three shafts of strong
magical light thrust from the submersible’s undercarriage, illuminating
the surrounding water. But now, those flood lamps are dim. But it is not dark
beyond the glass—a breathtaking vista reveals itself in startling hues of
phosphorescent color. Thousands of glowing fish, some in schools, some alone,
flit through the middle ocean. Picked out in luminescent yellows and greens are
great columns of stone, punching up with thick bases from the darkness below and
extending towards the surface above, slowly narrowing, perhaps just with
perspective. Some of the columns are only tens of feet across, but those farther
away in the hazing distance could be far, far broader, perhaps supporting small
islets of rock on the surface. Captain
Byam says, “I’ve never taken this route. I’d hoped we’d
see less activity... but it sure is pretty.”

If asked, Byam admits
he is taking a new route to Stormgate, one he doesn’t normally follow,
because he wishes to avoid paying the usual shipping fees some sahuagin tribes
assess for traversing their territories. He does not readily admit that he feels
justified in taking that risk because of the characters’ presence on his
ship, and their purported ability to fend off trouble. In fact, the real reason
he has asked the characters to the observation blister at just this moment is
because Byam knows that the Sea
Dart is entering potentially dangerous
waters: uncharted and home to sahuagin tribes with which he has no safe-passage
deals.

Development:
Call for Spot checks by all the characters looking out of the observation
blister windows. On a result of 25 or higher, characters see something large
arrowing through the water towards them. You can show the players the nearby
illustration of the shark as your read or paraphrase the
following:

An enormous dark shape is
visible in the water, moving closer on an intersection course. The shape has a
streamlined body with a triangular fin atop its back, a toothy mouth set well
under its long snout, and a tail shaped like a crescent moon. Little fish are
swimming around near it—no, wait, those aren’t fish, they are scaled
humanoids! That means the approaching beast is far larger than first appearances
suggested—it might be as large as the
Sea
Dart!

The approaching
beast is a gargantuan dire shark, accompanied by sahuagin. If the characters do
not see the approaching dire shark, Byam sees it on the round following the
round the Spot checks from characters are called for. However, this failure of
the characters to Spot the shark is a round less that the Sea Dart has to make
course corrections (see The Chase
below).

The
ChaseThe gargantuan dire shark’s
speed and the Sea
Dart’s speed are both 60. Because
both have special limitations to their speed for one reason or another, neither
can really exceed that pace (as most other creatures could do, with the
‘run’ action). Thus, if all things remain equal, the shark can never
catch the Sea
Dart if the submersible has a reasonable
head start. And, in time, the dire shark will tire, and fall farther behind. But
all things are not equal.

The PCs
may attempt a delaying action, such as a PC dropping back to fight the
gargantuan dire shark, or peppering the shark with long range attacks. However,
the shark’s sahuagin keepers keep it on track, chasing after the
sub.

Round
One:The dire shark, keepers, and saboteurs
come upon the submersible at 90 degree angle, ahead and to the left of the
Sea
Dart’s path. Call for Spot checks
from any characters in the observation blister (or other observation port). On a
result of 25 or higher, characters spot the approaching threat and can give
warning.

Round
Two:If warning was given on round
one, Byam yells for the pilot in the bridge to swing the
Sea
Dart around to run straight away from the
approaching sahuagin threat. If no warning was given during round one, Byam
automatically sees the approaching sahuagin threat this round,
pointing. If the
Sea
Dart swings around to run directly away
from the approaching dire shark due to the character’s successful Spot
check on round one, the initial distance of separation between shark and
submersible is equal to 60 feet. This separation remains constant until round
six. Once the Sea
Dart swings around, Byam commands the
magical observation pane for a rear view, providing a clear view of the
Sea
Dart’s
pursuers.

Round
Three:If Byam sees the sahuagin
threat for himself on Round Two, he yells for the pilot in the bridge to swing
the Sea
Dart around to run straight away from the
approaching sahuagin threat now. If the
Sea
Dart swings around to run directly away
from the approaching dire shark this round, the initial distance of separation
between shark and submersible is equal to 40 feet. This separation remains
constant until round six. Once the Sea
Dart swings around, Byam commands the
magical observation pane for a rear view, providing clear sight of the
Sea
Dart’s
pursuers.

Round
Four:Six sahuagin saboteurs shoot
forward through the water (using the ‘run’ action). Three grab onto
the left wing, three the right. The sound of their attachment clangs dully
through the submersible. Each group shepherds some strange looking equipment
which causes Byam to yelp. He says, “They’re going to clog the
elemental intakes! You’ve got to get out there and stop them! If they slow
us down, that thrice-damned mother of all sharks will destroy the
Sea
Dart!” The elemental intakes are
the collared circle in each of the wings through which the bound water elemental
torus
passes.

Characters
Leaving the Submersible: It is possible
that the characters began making preparations to leave the submersible on a
previous round of the chase. No matter when they begin scrambling toward the
water-lock, the process of grabbing from the hands of crewmen hastily thrust
forward water crossbows and potions of
water breathing (good for 10 hours each
and sufficient to keep the dangers of drowning and high pressure at bay),
downing their potions, and exiting out the airlock requires three full rounds.
Helpful crewmembers attach a tether to each character (50 feet long) unless a
given character demurs. If the
characters begin making preparations this round (round four), they emerge from
the water-lock at the beginning of round seven. If they began preparing the
leave the submersible earlier, they exit earlier, but see the instructions under
round seven for characters navigating the exterior of the
submersible.

Round
Five:The two groups of sahuagin
saboteurs assemble their equipment at the edge of each elemental intake on the
wings. They finish setting up their equipment at the end of the round. Each
piece of equipment extends of metal iron spike into the whirling turbulence of
the bound elemental. The gargantuan
dire shark and its keepers keep up the chase, trailing the
Sea
Dart at either 60 or 40
feet. Presumably, the characters are
caught up in preparations to leave the
submersible.

Round
Six:The saboteur’s equipment
assemblies are called draggers. Each dragger has a hardness 8 and 20 hit points,
or requires a DC 23 Disable Device check to cause the dragger to disengage and
fall away. The draggers make their presence felt this round. The dragger on each
wing begins to exert drag on the submersible’s speed, reducing the
submersible’s speed from 60 to 50 (each dragger reduces the
submersible’s total speed by
5). The gargantuan dire shark and its
keepers close their separation distance by 10 feet, now trailing the
Sea
Dart at either 50 or 30
feet. Presumably, the characters are
just on the verge of exiting the
airlock.

Round
Seven:If both draggers are still
functioning at the beginning of the round, the submersible’s speed remains
at 50. The gargantuan dire shark and
its keepers close their separation distance by 10 feet, now trailing the
Sea
Dart at either 40 or 20
feet. Presumably, the bulk characters
appear out of the airlock, a full round’s worth of actions available to
each of them. The airlock is located along the center line of the submersible.
The elemental intakes on each wing are each 30 feet from the airlock (60 feet
from each other). Therefore, 30 feet is the distance separating exiting
characters from each group of sahuagin saboteurs.

Moving
on the Hull: Footings attached all over
the hull allow careful characters to walk along the submersible’s surface
without being swept away by the rushing water. Using the footings successfully
allows the character to move her full speed, but require a xx check (characters
can take 10 on this check). A failure of more than five indicates that the
character moves at half speed, while a failure of 10 or more means the character
loses her footing and tumbles off the submersible. Those without tethers are
quickly left behind unless they have a quick swim
speed.

Attacking
The Sahuagin Saboteurs: The sahuagin on
the hull attempt to protect the draggers, three sahuagin to a dragger. Each
group of three surrounds its dragger, and viciously attacks anyone approaching
it.

Round
Eight:If both draggers are still
functioning at the beginning of the round, the submersible’s speed remains
at 50. The gargantuan dire shark and its keepers close their separation distance
by 10 feet, now trailing the Sea
Dart at either 30 or 10
feet.

If only one dragger still
functions, the submersible’s speed is 55. The gargantuan dire shark and
its keepers close their separation distance by 5 feet, now trailing the
Sea
Dart at either 35 or 15
feet.

If neither dragger still
functions, the gargantuan dire shark will never catch the submersible, and its
all over. If any sahuagin saboteur still retaining a footing on the submersible
hull detaches and falls
back.

Otherwise, the characters
presumably continue to fight the sahuagin saboteurs to disable one or both
draggers.

Round
Nine:If both draggers are still
functioning at the beginning of the round, the submersible’s speed remains
at 50. The gargantuan dire shark and its keepers close their separation distance
by 10 feet, now trailing the Sea
Dart at either 20 or 0 feet (see
If the Shark Catches the
Submersible).

If
only one dragger still functions, the gargantuan dire shark and its keepers
close their separation distance by 5 feet, now trailing the
Sea
Dart at either 30 or 10
feet.

If neither dragger still
functions, see round
eight.

Otherwise, the characters
presumably continue to fight the sahuagin saboteurs to disable one or both
draggers.

Round
Ten:If both draggers are still
functioning at the beginning of the round, the submersible’s speed remains
at 50. The gargantuan dire shark and its keepers close their separation distance
by 10 feet, now trailing the Sea
Dart at 10 feet (if the characters failed
to spot the dire shark in round one, and both draggers still function, the shark
caught the submersible last
round).

If only one dragger still
functions, the gargantuan dire shark and its keepers close their separation
distance by 5 feet, now trailing the Sea
Dart at either 15 or 5
feet.

If neither dragger still
functions, see round
eight.

Otherwise, the characters
presumably continue to fight the sahuagin saboteurs to disable one or both
draggers.

Round
Eleven:If both draggers are still
functioning at the beginning of the round, the submersible’s speed remains
at 50. The gargantuan dire shark and its keepers close their separation distance
by 10 feet, catching the submersible (see
If the Shark Catches the
Submersible). If
only one dragger still functions, the gargantuan dire shark and its keepers
close their separation distance by 5 feet, now trailing the
Sea
Dart at either 10 or 0 feet (see
If the Shark Catches the
Submersible). If
neither dragger still functions, see round
eight. Otherwise, the characters
presumably continue to fight the sahuagin saboteurs to disable one or both
draggers.

Round
Twelve:If only one dragger still
functions, the submersible’s speed is 55. The gargantuan dire shark and
its keepers close their separation distance by 5 feet, now trailing the
Sea
Dart at 5 feet (if the characters failed
to spot the dire shark in round one, and even if just one dragger still
functions, the shark caught the submersible last
round).

If neither dragger still
functions, see round
eight.

Otherwise, the characters
presumably continue to fight the sahuagin saboteurs to disable one or both
draggers.

Round
Thirteen:If even just one dragger
still functions, the gargantuan dire shark and its keepers close their
separation distance by 5 feet, the trailing dire shark finally catches the
submersible.

If the Shark
Catches the Submersible:The dire
shark smashes into the Sea Dart, damaging the ring that binds the water
elemental to the vessel. Pick up with the published adventure again with the
read aloud text at the very bottom of page 7, and continue with the adventure.
It is touch and go, here, and the PCs are not careful, the sahuagin may take
them down to their sunless city, where sea devils cavort in the court of their
king, awful rites pay homage to a brutal shark god, and the desperate characters
from above the waves dream of the sun they will never see again…

I recommend that you cut out the
encounter titled 'Island Encounter on page 9, because by this time, the PCs have
probably had enough fighting with the sahuagin, after they've played through the
above sequence (and failed).

If
the Submersible Escapes the
Shark:The journey to Stormgate
continues! Byam keeps careful watch as he continues to wend his submersible
through Straits. Assuming the shark attack occurred four days into the trip,
another four days of travel sees the Sea
Dart to the continent of Xen’drik
and Stormgate.
Experience:If
the submersible escapes the dire shark, award the characters experience
equivalent to a CR 8 monster. Pick up with the published adventure again on page
10 with the encounter titled 'Stormreach.'Creature StatsdGargantuan Dire Shark: CR 16; Gargantuan animal (aquatic); HD 33d8+165; hp 313; Init +2; Spd swim 60 ft.; AC 19 (-4 size, +2 Dex, +11 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 17; Base +24; Grp 46; Atk +30 melee (3d8+15, bite); Full Atk +30 melee (3d8+15, bite); Space/Reach 70 ft./10 ft. SA Improved grab, swallow whole; SQ Keen scent; AL N; SV Fort +22, Ref +20, Will +19; Str 31, Dex 15, Con 21, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 10.Skills and Feats Listen +12, Spot +26, Swim +14; Improved Natural Attack (bite), Toughness (4), Weapon Focus (bite).Improved Grab (Ex): On a successful bite attack, can attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can try to swallow the foe in the following round.Swallow Whole (Ex): A dire shark can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of up to Huge size by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 3d6+10 points of bludgeoning damage plus 2d6+8 points of acid damage per round from the shark’s digestive juices. A swallowed creature can cut its way out using a light slashing or piercing weapon by dealing 25 points of damage to the shark’s digestive tract (AC 13). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out.A Gargantuan dire shark’s gullet can hold 2 Huge, 8 Large, 32 Medium or Small, or 128 or Small, or 512 Diminutive or smaller opponents.Keen Scent (Ex): Notice creatures by scent in a 180-foot radius and can detect blood in the water at a range of up to 1 mile.Skills: +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

dSahuagin Keepers (4): Rng 2; CR 4;Medium Monstrous Humanoid (aquatic); HD 2d8+2 plus 2d8+2; hp 22; Init +1; Spd 30 ft., swim 60 ft.; AC16 (+1 Dex, +5 natural), touch 11, flatfooted 15; Base +4; Grp +6; Atk +6 melee (1d4+2, talon) or +6 melee (1d8+3, trident); Full Atk +6 melee (1d8+3, trident) and +4 melee (1d6+1, bite) and +4 melee (1d4+1, rake if in water); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA Blood frenzy, favored enemy (human); SQ Blindsense 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft. freshwater sensitivity, light blindness, speak with sharks, water dependent, wild empathy, combat style (Improved Natural Attack (bite)); SV Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +4; Str 14, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 9.Skills and Feats: Handle Animal +6*, Hide +8, Listen +8*, Profession (hunter) +6*, Ride +5, Spot +8*, Survival +2*; Great Fortitude, MultiattackB, TrackB.Blood Frenzy: 1/day a sahuagin can fly into a frenzy in round following it being damaged, clawing and biting madly until either it or its opponent is dead. It gains +2 Constitution and +2 Strength, and takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class. A sahuagin cannot end its frenzy voluntarily.Favored Enemy (Human): Gain a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against a human; gains a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against humans.Freshwater Sensitivity (Ex): See Monster Manual.Light Blindness (Ex): Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds sahuagin for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, they are dazzled while operating in bright light.Speak with Sharks (Ex): Communicate telepathically with sharks up to 150 feet away. The communication is limited to fairly simple concepts such as “food,” “danger,” and “enemy.” Can use the Handle Animal skill to befriend and train sharks.Water Dependent (Ex): Survive out of the water for 1 hour per 2 points of Constitution.Skills: +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.*Underwater, a sahuagin has a +4 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, and Spot checks. A sahuagin has a +4 racial bonus on Survival and Profession (hunter) checks within 50 miles of its home. sahuagin has a +4 racial bonus on Handle Animal checks when working with sharks. A sahuagin can always determine where true north lies in relation to itself and has a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to find or follow tracks.

dSahuagin Saboteurs (6): Rog2; CR 4;Medium Monstrous Humanoid (aquatic); HD 2d8+2 plus 2d6+2; hp 20; Init +1; Spd 30 ft., swim 60 ft.; AC16 (+1 Dex, +5 natural), touch 11, flatfooted 15; Base +3; Grp +5; Atk +5 melee (1d4+2, talon) or +5 melee (1d8+3, trident); Full Atk +5 melee (1d8+3, trident) and +3 melee (1d4+1, bite) and +3 melee (1d4+1, rake); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA Blood frenzy, sneak attack +1d6; SQ Blindsense 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft. freshwater sensitivity, light blindness, speak with sharks, water dependent, trapfinding, evasion; SV Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +4; Str 14, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 9.Skills and Feats: Disable Device +6, Escape Artist +6, Handle Animal +4*, Hide +8, Listen +8*, Move Silently +5, Profession (hunter) +1*, Ride +3, Spot +8*, Survival +1*.Blood Frenzy: 1/day a sahuagin can fly into a frenzy in round following it being damaged, clawing and biting madly until either it or its opponent is dead. It gains +2 Constitution and +2 Strength, and takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class. A sahuagin cannot end its frenzy voluntarily.Freshwater Sensitivity (Ex): See Monster Manual.Light Blindness (Ex): Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds sahuagin for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, they are dazzled while operating in bright light.Speak with Sharks (Ex): Communicate telepathically with sharks up to 150 feet away. The communication is limited to fairly simple concepts such as “food,” “danger,” and “enemy.” Can use the Handle Animal skill to befriend and train sharks.Water Dependent (Ex): Survive out of the water for 1 hour per 2 points of Constitution.Skills: +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.*Underwater, a sahuagin has a +4 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, and Spot checks. A sahuagin has a +4 racial bonus on Survival and Profession (hunter) checks within 50 miles of its home. sahuagin has a +4 racial bonus on Handle Animal checks when working with sharks. A sahuagin can always determine where true north lies in relation to itself and has a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to find or follow tracks.